Enjoy!

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It’s been a busy week and the next week promises to be even busier. All the goings on in the political world and on the international stage have kept me fairly busy on the internet, which is good because busy=$ as far as that goes. (If you haven’t read my in depth analyses on the situation in Iran, you really haven’t missed anything.) On the local and domestic front, there’s a ton of stuff to do, as well.

My ex is moving back to the States from Cambodia, so I have all kinds of things to take care of before she gets here. (Yes, it’s a rather strange situation but love will make people do strange things.) Lawn care, gardening, cleaning, storing stuff to make room for her stuff… every time I cross something off the To Do list, something takes its place. And talk about nerves…. yeesh! Now, if only I could get rid of this Grinch belly I’ve developed and add a few inches to the old biceps, I’d be feeling pretty good. Ah well – here’s hoping that love is still blind.

I’m kind of disappointed about the garden. I planted it extremely late due to the rainy weather we’ve had, so it’s going to be a while before there’s any produce. I started a little planter of herbs, which is coming along but I’m not sure it’s going to produce as well as I’d hoped.

The rain has made the lawn and the roses grow like crazy. I’ll get some pictures up, later.

Back to work…

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I’m sure you’ve probably already heard or read the fan-fucking-tastic news out of my fair state: the Iowa Supreme Court agreed that our gay brothers and sisters have the god-given right to enter into civil contracts with one another and declare their devotion to one another in a publicly acknowledged and legally binding manner.  (That’s really what this boils down to, isn’t it?)  About fucking time, I say.

Amidst all the hoopla and celebration (and some wailing and moaning from the over-churched busy bodies amongst us), you may have missed some of the subtleties that led to this decision, so I’ll give you a quick rundown. (You’ll have to pardon all the legalese in this list, but it’s important to understand how this works.)

• Gays have the right to “work” and earn “incomes” at “jobs”, just like straight people.
• Gays have the right to “purchase” various “products and/or services” from “vendors” and “retailers”, by spending “money” they’ve earned at their respective “jobs”, just like straight people.
• Gays have the right to “drive” devices known as “automobiles” on public thoroughfares, just like straight people.  They can also receive “citations” if they fail to follow the “laws” that govern driving an automobile on said thoroughfares.
• Gays are required to pay “taxes” to the government, based on their “incomes”, just like the lower 99% income bracket of straight people.
• Gays have the right to purchase “real estate” and “dwell” in their “homes”, just like straight people.
• Gays have the right to borrow money from financial institutions knowns as “banks” and are actually required to “pay back” the borrowed money, with an additional amount known as “interest”, or risk losing their “homes” or “automobiles”, just like straight people.  Additionally, their “borrowing” habits are tracked on something called a “credit report”, which can be used to determine their “credit worthiness” for other “loans”, just like straight people.

These are just a few facts that some of you may not be aware of, as they regard our gay neighbors.  And I know some of you may be thinking, “Hey, Rip – it almost sounds like gay folks are allowed to do everything that straight folks are allowed to do!”  Well, thankfully, that is the case, kids. And (again, thankfully), in Iowa and a few other states, “everything” finally means everything.

Congratulations and a hearty Thank You! to the Iowa Supreme Court for recognizing the inherent value of our gay brothers and sisters, both as people and American citizens.  I can only hope the scales fall from the eyes of the legislators in the rest of the nation.

Oh, I left one item off that list, purposefully, because I honestly don’t know the answer, so maybe a legal beagle out there can answer this question for us.  According to the Selective Service System regulations:

Almost all male U.S. citizens, and male aliens living in the U.S., who are 18 through 25, are required to register with Selective Service.

I looked at the exceptions to this policy and didn’t see anything regarding gay men (though I’m sure some people will point to the “moral fitness” phrase and pat their own backs in a moment of smug-ly goodness) so my question is this:  If gay men aren’t allowed to serve in the military – as a mumbled technicality, if not explicitly – should they be required to register with Selective Service? Just something that occurred to me.

I’m a straight guy with a few gay friends and acquaintances, and I couldn’t be happier for those who want to get married.  It’s far beyond time we started treating people as people – there’s no room for second class citizens in this great nation.  And, hey, all you rock ribbed conservatives?  Isn’t this just a great way to piss off the Islamofascists?  Silver linings and all that rot, am I right?

Now get out there and get married, you crazy gay friends o’ mine!  Skol!

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• Remember how I was pissing and moaning about computer problems?  That was only the start of it.  I had to buy a new computer because the backup computer started acting hinky on me, as well.  So, 3 computers in 8 days.  I still need to pull some stuff off the old hard drives, if I can.  Meanwhile, Happy Shiny Computer time!  Windows Vista?  There’s some fresh Hell for ya!
• As if that weren’t enough, I literally forgot how to log in to the Cabin.  Not that I had much to say, but still… I couldn’t remember the damned url to save my life!  And I wonder why I don’t get any ad solicitations…
• We moved Mother Ripley to Sister #2’s place this weekend.  I don’t think she’ll ever be back in Smalltown, USA, which is pretty sad.  A tough send off, lemme tell ya.
• 10 days later, I still haven’t kicked this cold.  My voice is cashed and I’m starting to wonder if I did some kind of permanent damage to my vocal cords.  (Not that anyone else is complaining.)  I can’t lean over because the pressure in my sinuses makes it feel like my right eyeball’s going to pop out of my head.
• I’m on a Neil Sedaka kick.  Shut up.  Shut the fuck up!
• I’m on the Twitter, as hailripley, if you’re into that kind of thing.  You don’t have to sign up, but you can follow my mind-blowing revelations at https://twitter.com/hailripley .

If you’re reading this, thanks! If you’re not reading this, you’re a terrible, terrible person.

I bookmarked the dashboard page so, Huzzah!, you’ll be able to read more of my inane drivel in the near future.  (Also, I’m pretty sure that my posts are being archived in the Congressional Library.  That’s no excuse to not read this blog, mind you.)  I hope you’re all doing well – thanks for sticking with me, even when I take a break from yelling at the clouds.

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I don’t know if this place carries a different brand of electricity, but my main computer wouldn’t even power up here. Seriously, the little power light just kept blinking some kind of Morse code “Fuck you, pally!”, even after I unplugged it. Balls! So, in preparation for the new internet service, I grabbed the backup system, fired it up, then remembered that I’d pulled the CD drive and put into the main computer. Gah! CD Drive transplants are not as exciting as you might think. I swapped the memory over while I was at it, as well.

Backup system fires up with no problem, and I’m licking my chops at the thought of the new widescreen monitor I just picked up. But… (you knew there was a “But” coming, right?) the computer won’t render the new resolution correctly. Hmmm… install the monitor CD and load the drivers and… nope! Another couple hours wasted while I try to reconfigure the display and get the video card to recognize the new drivers. I finally resolved that issue and the new monitor is working like a charm and dazzling me with its funky fresh coolness. I highly recommend a widescreen.

Now, of course, the new system is missing the dope software I use on a regular basis. Not a huge deal, because I can download most of it and there were a few apps that needed to be upgraded anyway. Still, there are a couple apps that I don’t feel like downloading again, mainly because the sources are – how shall I say it? – somewhat gray market, if you will, which makes them a little less convenient to install, what with the extra steps involved.

And, of course, the main system had all my bookmarks and e-mail addresses on it – work, friends, classmates, everybody. And if that weren’t enough, the e-mail app on the new system wouldn’t connect to the SMTP server properly, so I couldn’t send e-mail from one of my accounts. Not cool, man – not cool. I’m hoping I’ll be able to hook up the old hard drive as a slave and recover some of this stuff, but I don’t have a lot of faith in the computer gods at this point.

Kids, take a lesson from my mistakes: Back up, back up, back up! I thought I had things covered but I didn’t push the mantra deeply enough. Sure, my media files are safely on two other drives, but man… I really shot myself in the foot this time.

All in all, though, I can’t complain; I have a sweet apt. with criminally low rent in a great location. I’ll post some pictures of the new kitchen, once I’ve gathered the requisite cords and software.

Mother Ripley hasn’t improved much and we don’t expect that she will.  She swings back and forth between fairly cogent, if a little weak, and less functional episodes where she can barely put words together.  There are evidently some areas of damaged brain cells and she’s having some issues with blood viscosity.  One odd symptom she’s exhibiting is a fixation on her deceased mother, whom she believes is still alive and living in Mom’s house (my folks had purchased this house for Mom’s mother, which might explain that); it’s almost like low grade Alzheimer’s.  Her hand seems to be improving somewhat, but we don’t expect her mind to recover to any degree of consistent, normal function.

She’s still in the assisted living facility and we’ve decide that she won’t be able to return home because she needs constant monitoring.  She’s going to stay in the facility through April (Medicare limit), and we had planned to move her to another facility but we haven’t found one we’re comfortable with.  She’ll probably end up moving to one of my sister’s home, which my other sister and I aren’t thrilled about.

The kids decided that I should move into the apt. at Mom’s place so the house isn’t empty until we decide to sell it, so we spent 10 days or so renovating the kitchen and I’ve just finished moving in.  On the plus side, it’s a huge apt. and much nicer than my old place, but it’s a sad reminder of Mom’s condition and the unavoidable finale of her Life.

During the renovation work, I lost track of everything that was going on in the world because I wasn’t spending any time online.  Yikes, what a mess out there! I hope to get back on track and post consistently but, man – where to begin?

Hope everyone is doing well and gearing up for Spring.

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